Going solo?

[Blake29]

Hello all. My first post. I have been planning a trip to UO and IOA. I have been reading alot. Mostly trip reports. My question is will it be ok to go to these parks solo? I guess why I ask is it seems everyone on the rides have someone to ride with will I feel out of place? I have been to other parks. to many to list but really never a theme park other than Disney which I did almost 20 years ago. I was in a roller coaster club called ACE and have been on more than 65 different roller coasters. Even if I am 48 Im still young at heart! Thanks for any info you may have.

Blake

 

[patster734]

One of the regular posters on here, Macraven, has been going solo to the parks for years and loves it. I'm sure she'll be along shortly to report her experiences at doing Universal solo.

And a hearty to the darkside of the disboards. Stick around and enjoy yourself. We offer both advice and humor to those seeking either or both.

 

[inkkognito]

We live near USF/IOA and my husband (another former ACEer) goes solo all the time. He works during the day and I work in the evening, so he often runs over there for some power riding (we have Premier passes so he can use Express after 4 p.m.). If you don't have one of those, you can take advantage of the single rider lines on many rides.

You will LOVE Hulk!

 

[macraven]

i heard my name mentioned.

did i win the lottery?

or cookies??



hi blake, yes i go solo to the motherland and to the darkside.
started going solo 5 years ago and have another solo trip planned for this coming october.


i think the very first time i went solo i was shy about dining by myself at a sit down resturant.

since i couldn't stay hungry, i figured why not go for the table service alone.

no one really pays any attention to you.
i don't see many other solos when i am there but everybody around me seems so excited to be going to the parks, it's not a problem at breakfast time. (or any other time.)

the only issue i have ever had is when i do counter service and then have to struggle to find an empty table after i have my tray of food. i had that problem for a couple of years then decided to change my schedule and eat at off times when tables were plenty for cs.

about the rides, i usually tell the tm at universal or cm at disney, i don't want another person in the seat next to me.
most of the time they allow it.

rides like seuss trolley cars, cat in the hat, those type of rides, i insist on being alone and have never ever had a tm tell me it is a problem.
shows/rides like horror make up show, T2, mummy, shrek, it's not an issue as all seats are filled. many times a group is split up.

when the tm says, how many in your party, i hold up one finger and smile.
sometimes i use the index finger......jk......

i spend a lot of time at the mystic fountain watching and listening to the back and forth of talk between people and mr. fountain.
you end up laughing and the person next to you will usually say ,"wasn't that funny"....type of comment

one good thing about going solo is i can always squeeze into a place on a ride on a prime location.
mummy is one that will take the solo people to fill in for spots up front.
other rides also has that advantage.

i stay on site and use the express lane for all the rides with some exceptions.
i use the single line rider for MIB and do repeats on that ride a lot.
when spidey is open for it, i do the single rider lane there also.

i have met disers here on the forums and have made plans with them for meet ups for a bite to eat, do a ride, etc. for a short time period.

once you are there you will love being solo at the parks.

if you will be there when i am, i'll meet up with you for a ride....don't worry, i'm not a screamer.

 

[inkkognito]

Oops, forgot to add:

I go solo to Disney while hubby is working, and if I'm in the mood to talk to others, I wear something eye-catching (usually a monorail hat). Others often take it as a cue to start conversations with me.

Hubby could converse with a door post, so he doesn't use any props for socialization...he's always yakking with peopel at USF/IOA on his solo trips.

 

[patster734]

i heard my name mentioned.

Wasn't me!

 

[Blake29]

Thanks alot for all the responses. I was planning on July 4th but that fell thru so I was looking into Oct but rates still a little high so booked the last week of Sept at Hard Rock for a 139.00 a night. APH discount( which I learned from the board. Thanks!). So now Im off to look for air. Thanks again!

Blake

 

[patster734]

Thanks alot for all the responses. I was planning on July 4th but that fell thru so I was looking into Oct but rates still a little high so booked the last week of Sept at Hard Rock for a 139.00 a night. APH discount( which I learned from the board. Thanks!). So now Im off to look for air. Thanks again!

Blake

Wow! That's a great rate for HRH. Congrats on getting it!

 

[DOOM1001]

I've gone solo to the Universal,Disney,the Busch parks tons of times.Many people go to the parks solo,the biggest question that gets asked is about eating at a sit down restaurant by yourself,I personally don't do it cause I'm cheap and stick to counter service,but aside from that as others have said no one is paying attention to who's alone.I have fun if I go by myself or with a group of 20,so maybe the first 2 times I went by myself I thought about it,but after that you realize it's nothing to worry about.Just worry about having fun.

 

[macraven]

i try to do as many table service places when i am at the darkside.

i don't have to cover any other family members costs going solo.

it is way more affordable paying for one person than for 4 more.

 

[bennyb98]

I have gone to Universal before and never had any problems! It was fun and I could do whatever I wanted and whenever I wanted without having to worry about the others in my party! Don't worry about feeling out of place. I had an entire ET vehicle to myself onetime and the only bad thing about it was him calling me "Frank" (don't really know how that happened) and didn't feel out of place at all.

 

[Jason71]

Actually I think Uni has a couple benefits for solos over the Disney parks. First, there are a lot of "single rider" lines--MIB, Spiderman and Mummy come to mind immediately. Can speed up your day, allow for multiple rides in a row.

Second, a lot more options for "bar" dining--Finnegans and virtually all the CityWalk places. May make you a bit more comfortable.

 

[markndean]

Even though we are a couple, we belong to the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain and don't mind doing single rider lines as we get to do rides a lot more.

Mummy
Spiderman
Dr Doom
Hulk (depending on how busy the park is) we did it 20 times in a day once.
MIB

It's just a shame that there isn't a single rider line on Dueling Dragons, but we will go there at opening and go right to the ride, and you may get 10 rides before other people start arriving! we can usually do 5 times on each side in about 40 minutes (but you have to run around through the quick line at the back of the ride)